Wide-World-One:Wideworld's Safety Tips to Improve your Family Safety and Home Security

Burglaries happen every 13 seconds. Discovering ways to improve your family's safety and security in your home is a big, first step in achieving the comfort that comes from knowing that you've done the practical things that are effective in protecting you, your family, and your belongings.

Click on the topics below for tips that will help you protect your family and belongings.

Carbon Monoxide
Approximately 200 people per year are killed by accidental CO poisoning with an additional 5000 people injured.

Doors
Over 40% of home burglaries are termed by police as "no force" entries. In other words, doors or windows were left unlocked, allowing the burglar easy access to the home.

Exterior Entries
Doors are the second highest point of entry for residential burglaries!

Exterior Lighting
Main entryways to your residence should be well lit to allow for identification of visitors at your doors and to prevent loitering. 90% of all intruders will choose not to enter a residence that is well lit.

Fire
Fires at night (between 11pm & 7am) accounted for 19% of all dwelling fires.

Fire Escape Plan
Only 53 percent of Americans have an escape plan and of those, only 16% have practiced it.

Garage Doors
10% of all illegal entries are gained through a garage door.

Interior
The probability of a burglary at a residential site without an alarm system is 14.8%

Landscaping
Fences and shrubbery can make good hiding places for burglars.

Sliding Glass Doors
Sliding glass doors are usually installed at the rear of a home or apartment making them good candidates for entry by a burglar.

Swimming Pool
Drowning is the number one cause of death for children under five in Florida, Arizona, and California with a ranking of number two for over a dozen other states.

Vacation
Research shows that 74% of all unsuccessful burglary attempts failed because of an alarm that emits a load sound.

Window
Windows are the 1st point of entry for residential burglaries! 30.9% of burglaries occur through first floor windows. 6.0% of burglaries occur through the upper-floor windows.